You are driving on the freeway. The vehicle in front of you is a large truck. You should drive:
- losely behind the truck in bad weather because the driver can see farther ahead.
- Farther behind the truck than you would for a passenger vehicle. ✓
- No more than one car length behind the truck so the driver can see you.
Answer: B. Farther behind the truck than you would for a passenger vehicle.
You should drive farther behind the truck than you would for a passenger vehicle.
Why this is the answer
The handbook says large vehicles and commercial trucks need more distance to stop than passenger vehicles going the same speed. It notes that a passenger vehicle at 55 mph can stop in about 300 feet, while a large vehicle may need up to 400 feet. The handbook also warns against following too closely because tailgating cuts your safety distance. That is why a truck ahead calls for a larger following gap than a car ahead.
Why the other answers are wrong
- A. losely behind the truck in bad weather because the driver can see farther ahead. — Closing up behind the truck in bad weather goes against the handbook's warning not to follow too closely, and the passages do not say to rely on the truck driver's view.
- C. No more than one car length behind the truck so the driver can see you. — Keeping only one car length back is a tailgating gap; the handbook warns that following too closely reduces safety distance, and it says you can be hidden in a truck's blind spots.
Remember it
Big truck ahead? Give it more room than you would give a car.